Ogden Arsenal, Service Magazine, 6459 North Loop, Layton

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,6-LAY.V,1AV-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

North Loop, Hill Air Force Base, Layton Vicinity, Davis County, Utah Note: For shelving purposes at the Library of Congress, Layton Vicinity in Davis County was assigned as the "official" location of Hill Air Force Base. Building is actually in the Ogden Vicinity of Weber County. UTM: Date of Construction: Architect: Unknown Builder: Unknown

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,6-LAY.V,1AV-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Building housed the Tetryl screening and blending operations for anti-tank ammunition that was produced at Ogden Arsenal. The building provides particularly vivid images of the processes involved in the manufacture of munitions at Ogden Arsenal during World War II. This building, along with other structures at the base, renders a unique picture of the U.S. Army build-up which occurred on the eve of and during World War II. History: Building housed the Tetryl screening and blending operations for anti-tank ammunition that was produced at Ogden Arsenal. Tetryl is a very powerful explosive that is commonly used in the manufacture of primary and secondary charges for blasting caps. Because of its very high melting point it was pressed into pellets rather than melted and cast.

Before Tetryl could be pressed into pellets, it was screened and blended with graphite in Building Ogden Arsenal, Service Magazine HAER No. UT-84-AV Page 2 Building contained a screening room on the top floor and a blending room on the ground floor. These two levels were accessed by an indoor staircase area that also housed the equipment that powered the blending and screening machinery. An exterior safety chute was available for workers to escape from the second floor quickly in the event of an explosion. In an elevator shaft was added on the west facade and connected to the building by a covered walkway. It was separated from the main building in order to minimize its impact on the sensitive explosives that were handled inside.

Tetryl was transferred to the second floor of Building from a rest house in 50 lb. boxes. Two boxes were brought into the building at a time. Each box was weighed (57 gross/50 net per box) before it was opened and processed. The Tetryl case was opened with a non-sparking pinch bar, and then scooped out with copper scoops. The Tetryl was screened through an aluminum screen into a large rubber bucket, using copper scoops, until 100 (2 boxes) had been screened. This screened Tetryl was then was transferred to the first floor, where it was placed in a blender with graphite Tetryl mixed with 1 lb. Graphite) for 30 minutes. The blended Tetryl was drawn from the blender into rubber cups, (approx. 1 pt.

= 1 lb per cup) that were then transferred to a rest house in wooden transfer boxes by means of an explosive transfer cart. General Description: Building x located in the original North Loading Plant Area, is a two-story, gable-roofed building. It is comprised of two sections: a two-story gabled portion and a shed-roofed elevator shaft to the west. The shaft (5' x 6') was added to the building in and is sheathed with corrugated "transite" (asbestos) siding. The shaft contains a one-story shed-roofed entry with a single door on the north side. The elevator is connected to the building by an open balcony with a gable roof An emergency slide extends from the balcony to the ground on the north side.

The main structure is framed in concrete, with a concrete wall separating the interior open stair from the screening rooms. The walls, like other "arsenal style" buildings, are infilled with red tile. Originally, the interior finish consisted of a linoleum floor and Keene's cement walls. The north and south elevations of the building each have a nine-pane hopper window on each floor. The roof extends to create a five-foot overhang on the east elevation which contains a balcony across the Ogden Arsenal, Service Magazine HAER No. UT-84-AV Page 3 length of the three-bay facade. The facade has a single door, double door, and window on both floors.

The west elevation contains a double door to the balcony which connects to the elevator and two double-hung nine-pane windows on the second floor, with similar fenestration on the first floor of the east side. Modifications to convert the building into a lunch/break area include the addition of lockers and showers on the second floor. The first floor now serves as the break room; the second floor is a dressing room area. Ogden Arsenal, Service Magazine HAER No. UT-84-AV Page 4 1-z 00 "iL * a> QJ i Q o O Q II _J CD d CD < _l O In ^ C\l I